


Freedom of Speech

by Feneris



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Brawling, Crack, Fishing, Gen, Historical Reinactment gone wrong, Humour, In trouble with teachers, Rioting, Student Protests, debriefing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:21:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23929858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feneris/pseuds/Feneris
Summary: They knew they were in trouble. Professor Byleth was not happy with them. Why would they be? The protest was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration. Instead over a hundred people had been hurt, thirty four more were in the hospital, three cars had been torched, nearly fifty thousand dollars in damage had been done to Grondor Park, and the campus stable-master was practically screaming for their heads.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 67





	Freedom of Speech

**Author's Note:**

> This started simply because the more I got to know Edelgard’s personality, the more I could see her as one of those politically active student protestors whose willing to use any method to advance her cause, even if it hinders her cause. And because its Fire Emblem: Three Houses, I had to at least include Dimitri and Claude getting dragged into the mess. Hope you enjoy.

They could be fishing right now. 

Professor Byleth liked fishing. They had fought alongside revolutionaries in Kalmira for a chance to fish the legendary coral reefs of the Stained Sea. It was why they had taken the professorship at Garreg Mach University. The pond at the university was vast and deep and home to fish that had inhabited its depths since the days the University was a Monastery. They could just cast a line into those waters whenever they had some spare time. It was perfect. 

Of course the catch was that as a professor they had to actually teach. In all fairness it was actually a very satisfying job. But it also had to be said that their students had issues. Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude worried them the most sometimes. It was to be expected. The three of them had great expectations on their shoulders. One day they would be the heads of their respective nations, have the eyes of the world scrutinizing their every action, and access to nuclear weapons. 

So it was understandable that they took incidents like this seriously.

Byleth spun around in their chair to look at the three shame-faced students sitting on the other side of their desk. 

“Over a hundred people hurt, thirty four in the hospital, three torched cars, nearly fifty thousand dollars in damage to Grondor Park, and the campus stable-master practically screaming for your heads. So tell me. What the hell happened here?”

Their gaze immediately fell to the young woman with the dyed blonde hair. Edelgard had started this. Of course she had. She was the one with the dual political-science/sociology major. She was also the one with the secret Rumblr blog filled to the brim with the kind of firebrand, destroy the system, purge the guilty, and reform society in the fires of revolution, kind of progressivism that Byleth was pretty sure had killed one of her ancestors. 

She was also the one who had organized the whole protest in the first place. 

Edelgard straightened in her seat, her chin twitched up, and she gave them the steely look that signaled she was willing to die on this hill. “The Students for Social Justice were protesting the cuts the current government was making to social support and access to education. It was all planned ahead of time and we had all the necessary permissions. We fully intended this to be a peaceful demonstration, until that far right counter-protest tried to force us out of the main plaza. When that happened we left calmly and peaceably.”

“Yes,” Byleth agreed. “Which apparently allowed your right and left flanks to circle around and attack from the sides, while you ordered a sudden counter-attack on the center.” 

The corner of Edelgard’s eye twitched. “That was self-defence.” She stated. “We have the right to defend ourselves from unprovoked attacks.” 

“Which was why you screamed out ‘Charge!’ and smashed your sign into that man’s head?” 

Another twitch.

“In any case,” Byleth continued on, “You were able to regain control of the plaza. You then used it as a spring-board to press the offensive and drive the counter-protestors down the quadrangle. Brilliant use of your auxiliaries allowed you to block off avenues of escape and ensure the main body of your forces could continue to drive the counter-protestors back towards the western parking lot. So why did this suddenly spill over into Grondor park?” 

Edelgard flush red. Her jaw tightened. “The right flank collapsed.” She finally admitted. 

“Ah yes,” Byleth nodded. “That would indeed explain why they suddenly went up the avenue. And of course you had to keep up the pursuit, lest they circle around and flank you. Resulting in them being driven across the main road and into the park where the Historical Reenactment Club was putting on…” their gaze snapped to the blond man in the center. “What was it again Dimitri?” 

“Our annual reenactment of the Fifth Battle of Grondor Field,” Dimitri replied, shifting in his chair. 

“Ah yes, a long standing tradition of the university,” Byleth nodded. “Which raises the question as to why you were fighting protestors instead of each other.”

“It was a… misunderstanding.” Dimitri admitted. “The battle takes place along Jyth’s gully. Both sides can’t actually see each other from where they start out. We heard the yelling and the fighting and thought we had missed our cue. So we started the charge.”

“Which explains why the other group thought the same thing and charged as well. I imagine over two hundred history students in full costume charging down the hill on both sides, screaming battlecries at the top of their lungs, was a very intimidating sight. Which also raises the question as to why you didn’t stop fighting when you realized that you in fact hadn’t missed your cue.” 

“We ummm… were kind of caught up in the moment. By the time we realized what had happened we were already in the thick of the fighting.” 

“And the fact that the Western Faerghus Separatists were part of the counter-protestors had nothing to do with it?” One of Byleth’s eyebrows went up. “According to witnesses you grabbed the president of the Free Faerghus movement by the arm, used him as a bludgeon against several nearby individuals, before throwing him over twenty meters into a blackberry bush.” 

“That was personal,” Dimitri answered. “I lost my temper. I’m sorry Professor.” 

“In any case,” Byleth continued, “This unexpected development caused significant chaos in the battlefield organization and a breakdown in discipline, which in turn allowed the counter-protestors to break free and attempt to rally at the nearby gazebo in the hopes of launching a successful counter-attack. They might have even succeeded too if it hadn’t been for the cavalry charge.”

They cast a glare at the last person in the row. Claude looked completely unapologetic. “That was a complete accident Teach. We were just enjoying a nice peaceful ride through the park when the horses got frightened by all the screaming and shouting and bolted on us.”

“You would think a frightened horse would run away from the thing that was scaring it.” Byleth remarked. “Not charge straight towards it. And you would think the chances of them wheeling around and coming back for another pass would be out of the question.”

Claude shrugged. “I can’t explain it either Teach. Animals do strange things when they’re scared.” 

“And the fact you nearly trampled the head of the local Neo-Nationalist chapter was a complete coincidence? He was the one who told you, if I remember correctly, to ‘fuck off back to Almyra.’”

“I didn’t even see him,” Claude said with a straight face. “I was too busy trying to get my horse back under control.” 

“In any case,” Bythel continued on. “This unexpected development resulted in the entire battle degenerating into a massive free for all brawl. Which, with no one able to direct it, logically began moving downhill towards the fish pond. Where I was fishing.”

You could see the sudden shiver pass through all three of the students in front of that desk. 

“You were fishing at the pond Professor?” Edelgard asked, her eyes widening. 

“Oh yes,” Byleth confirmed. “It was a nice sunny day. I had just finished grading all the midterms and I decided I would reward myself with a nice relaxing day fishing at the pond. It was wonderful. Then I start to hear yelling and the ground starts to shake.” 

“It truly wasn’t our intention to disturb your fishing...” Dimitir began. 

“You scared away the fish.” The professor's voice was ice cold. “That was the biggest striped bass I have ever seen in my life.”

“Does that mean that terrible, demonic, inhuman scream from the ashen depths of hell came from you then?” Claude asked, his relaxed posture going stiff.

“I’ve fought guerrilla wars against logging companies in Sesorka just so I could fish the untamed waters of the deep jungles.” Byleth’s chair screeched against the linoleum floor as they stood up. “I’ve never seen a bass that big! I almost had it! I was **this** close!”

It was then that those three students, future rulers of their nations, realized just how much trouble they were in.


End file.
